Imagine being a small child and only being able to visit with your mother twice a month, for only two hours at a time. That is the situation for several young girls who belong to the Girl Scouts of Central Maryland. Since their time with their mothers is so limited, the coordinators at the Girl Scouts want to make it as meaningful as possible. They do so with their Beyond Bars program.
The Girl Scouts Beyond Bars is a program that began with the Girl Scouts of Central Maryland in 1992 in order to bond daughters with their incarcerated mothers. The program has been a model for 25 similar programs across the nation. Between 15 and 20 girls participate in each meeting.
The program is run completely by volunteers and interns from criminal justice departments at local colleges and universities. The girls visit the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women in Jessup and the Baltimore Pre-Release Unit for Women in West Baltimore City twice a month. Any girl between the ages of 5 and 17 can participate, as long as their mothers agree to join the Girl Scouts as well. Institutionalized mothers who have a history of sexual or child abuse cannot participate in the program.
Margaret Chippendale, the Girl Scouts of Central Maryland Manager for Child Advocacy, said she feels the program is a wonderful opportunity for bonding time between incarcerated mothers and their daughters. “For many of the mothers, its the only opportunity to meet with their daughters,” she said. “They are so grateful for the relationship they are building.” “Basically, it?s a traditional meeting in a non-traditional setting.”
The girls and mothers spend two hours together every other Saturday. The meetings always start with traditional things like the Girl Scout Promise and Law and arts and crafts, but the leaders make sure that quality time is spent between each mother and daughter. “There is always time built in for mothers and daughters to have quiet time,” Chippendale said. “They can play a board game, read together and just enjoy each other?s company.”
For Mother?s Day, the girls made each of their mothers a card with a poem about staying strong and relaxing with a cup of tea when things get tough, and included a tea bag inside. The mothers each prepared a special bulletin board inside of the institutions for their daughters. At the next meeting, taking place Saturday, May 20, the mothers and daughters will work on a scrapbook photo collage with pictures from the entire girl scout year.
Not only do the daughters and mothers benefit, but so does the institution. “The guards see a better behaved inmate,” Chippendale said, “since the women have to behave in order to get the privilege of participating.”
For more information about Girl Scouts of Central Maryland, the Beyond Bars program and other programs, visit www.gscm.org.
